1. The Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to a rhinitis-relief device employing a gaseous medium and water for treating patients suffering from rhinitis, wheter due to allergic conditions, common cold or any other factor.
2. The Prior Art
It has been known for some time that the application of a hot medium--usually air--to the nose of a patient suffering from rhinitis results in a sensible relief thereof, due both to the opening of the respiratory tracks and the sterilization thereof (Yerushalmi, A et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 79,4766-4769 (August 1982, Yerushalmi, A and Lwoff, A, C.R. Acad. Sc. Paris, t. 291 (Dec. 8, 1980)). However, in order to obtain a useful action of the hot medium and to avoid harmful effects or uncomfortable feeling during treatment, the hot medium employed must fulfill certain requirments. Throughout this specification reference will be made to air as the hot medium, for the sake of simplicity, it being understood that any other suitable gaseous medium may be employed instead of air, with the corresponding operational changes.
As stated, the hot air must fulfill certain conditions. The temperature of the air, for instance, should not exceed 47.degree. C. in order to avoid damage to the mucous membrane of the patient's nose. Further, the humidity of the air must be as high as possible in order to avoid discomfort and feeling of dryness in the patient.
The art has, so far, provided devices which employ air heaters to obtain a stream of hot air which is then caused to vaporize water (e.g., by drawing water from a reservoir through a restriction) thereby obtaining a stream of hot humid air which is then caused to flow toward the patient's nose. The devices of the art, however, present severe drawbacks in that they are rendered expensive by the need to employ a compressor or a similar device to obtain a stream of air which is under a sufficiently high pressure to be employed for the subsequent vaporization of the water. Further, these devices are expensive in operation since they require to effect the heating of air which, as it is known to persons skilled in the art, is a relatively non-effective heat transfer process. Furthermore, the requirement for controlled conditions of the stream of hot humid air leaving the device requires to employ complex and costly control circuits to control the input of heat to the device.
Another important drawback, from the point of view of the user, is that known devices require the use of distilled (or even double-distilled) water (as required, e.g., in the "Rhinotherm" explanatory leaflet), to avoid clogging which--because of the structure of such devices--occurs easily.